University of Auckland

Special Collections

The administrative records of the University of Auckland are held by the Office of the Vice Chancellor in the Registry and Student Administration, but there is a range of historical material about the University in the Special Collections department of the University Library.

These records consist of reminiscences of alumni, especially those collected for the University’s 1983 Centennial and the research papers of the author of the centennial history, distinguished historian Sir Keith Sinclair; records of student bodies such as the Auckland University Students’ Association; records of the Centre for Continuing Education; records of cultural groups e.g. Auckland University Singers; clipping files and photographs from the Public Relations Office; and research and personal papers of academics.

Special Collections is a collecting archive, established in 1939, whose development is strongly guided by the teaching, learning and research goals of the University. Its wider collections have strengths in Pacific studies, trade union material, and Auckland political party records. The largest and most important collection is the Western Pacific Archives. Total holdings are around 1400 linear metres.

There are also archival collections in other divisional libraries of the University. The Architecture Library houses Auckland-based architectural records and plans. The Fine Arts Library holds the Elam School of Fine Arts Archive which dates from 1880 and consists of the School’s records, artworks, photographs, posters, and ephemera.

University Administrative Records

The University of Auckland was originally a college of the University of New Zealand and became an autonomous institution under the University of Auckland Act 1961. University records were once the responsibility of the Registrar, but legislative changes dating back to 1990 led to devolution and changes to administrative structures which resulted in a weakening of the centralised role of the Registry. Typically responsibilities for record keeping passed to faculties and their constituent departments.

The Office of the Vice Chancellor in the Registry, and Student Administration, continue to provide a central repository of records relevant to their particular responsibilities, including the Vice-Chancellor’s important role as the employer of staff.

Prior to the passing of the Public Records Act in 2005, New Zealand universities did not fall under the provisions of the previous legislation, though some University files had been handed to Archives New Zealand when, for example, the University Grants Committee had been disestablished in 1990.

This has meant that New Zealand universities have not previously had to seek external approval for disposal schedules or to defer transfers of records to Archives New Zealand. Indeed the University of Auckland, like most universities in New Zealand, does not have formal disposal schedules for some of its records and attempts are now being made to develop these on an “across the sector” basis. Despite this our universities have developed a number of specialist archives, and many records which would otherwise have been lost have found homes and been cared for by universities.